Solving the Data Challenge of PCMS Change

For most law firms, the Practice and Case Management System (PCMS) sits at the very heart of the business. It touches everything: fee earners and support staff, client onboarding, matter management, finance, compliance, reporting, and operations. Quite simply, if the PCMS is unavailable or unreliable, the firm cannot function effectively.

That is why changing or upgrading a PCMS is often described as the single biggest transformation a law firm can undertake. It is not just an IT project - it is an organisational change programme that affects every department and every role. And understandably, that scale brings hesitation.

Fear of Change: The Biggest Barrier

The most common blocker we see is not technology, but fear of change. Even when a system is no longer fit for purpose, firms worry about disruption to fee earners, loss of productivity, training fatigue, the investment and resources needed, and the risk of getting it wrong. Partners are rightly cautious about anything that could impact client service or cash flow.

This fear is often amplified by the fact that PCMS projects are highly visible. If something goes wrong, everyone feels it. As a result, firms can end up staying on legacy platforms far longer than they intended, simply because the perceived risk of moving feels greater than the pain of standing still.

The Data Headache: Risk, Regulation and Responsibility

Alongside change management, data is the second major concern - and often the most complex one.

Law firms hold vast volumes of sensitive and historic information: client records, financial ledgers, matter histories, and compliance data that may need to be retained for many years. During a PCMS migration, firms must ensure that data is:

• Secure and protected at all times
• Not corrupted, altered, or lost
• Stored in line with regulatory and data retention requirements
• Accessible for audit, reporting, or client queries in the future

Traditional migrations often force firms into difficult compromises. Some systems only allow opening balances or limited historical data to be moved, meaning firms either carry forward years of legacy information they rarely need, or keep old systems running indefinitely “just in case”.

This creates ongoing cost, complexity, and risk. Maintaining licences, servers, and ageing infrastructure for systems that are no longer actively used is far from ideal, yet many firms feel they have no alternative.

Rethinking How Historic Data is Handled

One of the most effective ways to reduce risk in a PCMS change is to separate historic data retention from day-to-day operational systems.

In 2024, Xperate developed XSDM (Xperate Static Data Manager) specifically to address this challenge.

Rather than forcing firms to choose between migrating everything or losing access to legacy data, XSDM allows historic data to be securely stored in a static, read-only format once a system is retired.

XSDM is a lightweight, cost-effective solution designed to remove of the biggest obstacles to PCMS change. Unlike traditional data migrations, XSDM uses a simple licensing model with a fixed software cost of just £5,000.

This approach offers several practical benefits:

• Firms retain full transactional-level detail without needing to keep legacy systems live
• Data remains accessible for audit, compliance, and reference purposes
• New PCMS implementations can remain cleaner, simpler, and more efficient
• Old servers and licences can be safely decommissioned, reducing cost and risk

All XSDM implementations are delivered by Xperate’s experienced data migration specialists, with deep expertise in handling sensitive legal data and a strong UK-based delivery team, providing firms with added confidence that their data is being managed securely, compliantly, and with care.

Importantly, this is not about rushing or cutting corners. It is about being deliberate and proportionate with data - keeping what must be retained, in a format that is secure, compliant, and fit for purpose.

Making Transformation Feel Manageable

When fear and data risk are addressed properly, PCMS change becomes far less intimidating. Firms that succeed tend to treat it as a phased journey rather than a single “big bang” event. They plan early, involve stakeholders across the business, and put safeguards in place to protect what matters most.

By taking a more strategic view of historic data, firms can remove one of the biggest psychological and technical barriers to change. That, in turn, allows them to focus on the real goal of a PCMS upgrade: enabling better ways of working, improving efficiency, and supporting the firm’s long-term strategy.

Changing a PCMS will never be trivial - but with the right preparation and tools, it does not have to be paralysing.

For a conversation about how our XSDM tool might help you let go of legacy software or finally press on with a practice case management system switch, get in touch with our team.

Contact: